Putting in a plug for Rick at the House of Tandems. He was at STR with a bunch of these wheels. He was great providing SAG support, and a good source of information.

One cool thing about the Spinergy wheels is that you can do custom spoke colors with them.

Also talking to Rick, he believes that these wheels would exceed the durability of a 40 spoke Deep V wheel. And they are very easily field repairable. Hence, we're thinking about picking up a pair for light touring.

Agree, thanks to House of Tandems for working SAG support at Southern Tandem Rally 2012. We too had a look at the wheels, and also that Paketta on display. Very nice stuff.

PK

2006 Co-Motion Roadster, flat bars, discs and carbon fibre fork, size 22 / 19
2006 Ventana ECDM full suspension mountain tandem
Some single bikes and a couple of KTM's
And most important, someone special that enjoys them with me (except the KTM's)

Putting in a plug for Rick at the House of Tandems. He was at STR with a bunch of these wheels. He was great providing SAG support, and a good source of information.

One cool thing about the Spinergy wheels is that you can do custom spoke colors with them.

Also talking to Rick, he believes that these wheels would exceed the durability of a 40 spoke Deep V wheel. And they are very easily field repairable. Hence, we're thinking about picking up a pair for light touring.

I have dealt with Rick before and look forward to dealing with him again. He is a good guy. That being said I have to wonder about the "these wheels would exceed the durability of a 40 spoke Deep V wheel" statement. Wheel strength is not magic. Assuming an equally skillful build, the variables are the rim, the spokes and the hub. Both wheels use an aluminum rim probably both 6000 series. It would appear the Deep V being heavier with a higher profile would be the stronger rim. Individual spoke strength would go to Spinergy spokes but 40 double butted steel spokes on a strong rim will hold up a very very long time. So long I consider it overkill for all the most abusive use. I don't know what hubs he was considering for the deep V wheel but with an aluminum axle and freehub I think this is a possible durability edge for the deep V wheel if it also uses a standard steel hub and axle hub like Phil, DT Swiss, Shimano, or White Industries.

I just don't see the logic of that statement. Spinergies might be plenty strong but a 40 hole deep V wheel is a really high standard. Maybe I am missing something. I would love to hear how it it is stronger. If it is then that is a real accomplishment.

As another attendee of STR, I'll echo the comments and appreciation for Ric & Marsha's efforts. Ric was nice enough to let us try a set for the last ride of the rallye . While our road surfaces here are pretty good, Dar had good things to say about the ride comfort. Owing to the wind conditions, I couldn't tell if the rims were making us any faster or added to our so-called endurance (theoretically, yes since they're lighter than our 40 spoke Dyads). At the end of the ride, we placed an order. They should arrive this week, but won't go the bike till after the re-paint job in Jan. Color clash issue.

Jeff

Learn from other people's mistakes. You won't live long enough to make them all yourself.

That being said I have to wonder about the "these wheels would exceed the durability of a 40 spoke Deep V wheel" statement. Wheel strength is not magic.

Just reading the quote, it would appear Ric's statement was made in regard to "durability", not strength. There's a difference.

In talking with Ric at STR regarding the Spinergy wheels, I believe what he was sharing was the PBO spokes don't put hub flanges and spoke nipples/rims through the same fatigue cycles as do steel spokes and thus far they haven't seen any such failures with the Spinergy wheels.

The only failures they have seen are on the 29er wheels, and it has nothing to do with the PBO spoke technology. Instead, it was the rear hub shell that was the weak link, and this is hardly a unique problem for the Spinergy wheels. During my occasional visits to MTBTandems Alex always shares the latest additions to the MTBTandem's hub graveyard. I think the only hub I haven't seen in the graveyard may be a Chris King. There are some really ugly other failures -- most coming from 29ers -- where in one case the pawls not only cracked a ratchet ring, they eventually drive through the hub shell.

Bottom Line: If you really want to know what Ric is citing as the rationale behind the durability statement, call and ask him. He'll most certainly take the time to go through all of the details. One of the nicest guys I've met in the tandem business, which is filled with really nice guys.

Bianchi, Trek, Another Trek, Raleigh, Fuji and Santana and another Santana

Posts

156

Mentioned

0 Post(s)

Tagged

0 Thread(s)

Update:
After 4000 miles have had two rear wheels fail. We are a 330 lb team, and there were no crashes or other drama associated with the failures. At a bit over 2000 miles, one of the little flanges that hold the butt ends of the spokes broke off. Spinergy sent a replacement wheel without any fuss, but after about 1600 miles on the new wheel, a spoke nipple fractured and my LBS mechanic reported cracks in the rim. Spinergy replaced the wheel again, but, at this point I have lost some confidence, and have been reluctant to depend on this wheelset.

We are recreational riders who have 750 plus miles on our TX2s. Love them and are very happy with them. Can't speak to the grams, watts and aerodynamics as we, and I suspect to venture most tandem teams will never be the Olympic caliber riders that this stuff really makes a difference to. They support our 450 pounds over RR tracks, cattle guards, chip n seal roads and expansion joints on bridges. We are happy with them and thats what matters.

Anyone Have Problems With The Front Hub To Fork Drop Out Clearance?

Hello all, I have been following this post for sometime now and pulled the plug when I saw a set of Spinergy's on ebay. I have an older Santana, a 1996 Sovereign, Aluminum frame with a chrome steel fork. The wheels are light, over the stock wheels (Edco hubs, 40 spoke, Mavic 217 ceramic rims), they would almost save 2 pounds of rotational weight. I put on new tires, adjusted the brakes, thought cool and tried to roll the bike and... the bike wouldn't move. Rechecked the brake adjust and found out the front fork drop out has an interference with the front hub. Now what, New fork?

Hello all, I have been following this post for sometime now and pulled the plug when I saw a set of Spinergy's on ebay. I have an older Santana, a 1996 Sovereign, Aluminum frame with a chrome steel fork. The wheels are light, over the stock wheels (Edco hubs, 40 spoke, Mavic 217 ceramic rims), they would almost save 2 pounds of rotational weight. I put on new tires, adjusted the brakes, thought cool and tried to roll the bike and... the bike wouldn't move. Rechecked the brake adjust and found out the front fork drop out has an interference with the front hub. Now what, New fork?

Newbie here, not to tandems, Mike

i would probably very carefully use my Dremel and remove a little material from the fork. Just where it is interfering, it appears to be in the welded area.

i would probably very carefully use my Dremel and remove a little material from the fork. Just where it is interfering, it appears to be in the welded area.

is it interfering on both sides?

Hello,

Yes, the hub will lock up solid touching on both sides of the fork drop out. I have thought too about just taking off enough material for clearance but at least 3/32 inches of material would have to be removed for proper clearance. I just don't know what the thickness of the metal is at the contact point. The newer Santana carbon V fork appears to have a normal size drop out area but explaining to the wife that I now need a 5-600 dollar fork should go over nicely

The reason for going with a different wheel set over the stock ones was not so much the ride or weight savings, it was because I had replaced the rims with Mavic ceramic rims for better braking when wet. Since I put the ceramic rims on, I have not been able to get rid of a high pitch brake squeal. I have tried many brake pads, special ceramic ones, different brands, they might be quiet for a few miles but after a few hard stops, the squeal always returns. I tried switching to different brakes (mini V brake), 2 times now) and while the squeal is better, it is still present.

We have a set of Spinergy 32H Disc compatible wheels on our tandem. Not sure what model/year they are. Although they are disc compatible hubs, the bike uses rim brakes. The tandem frame doesn't have disc mounts. I'm not sure of the history of this tandem other than the guy I purchased the bike from indicated that it was previously owned by a Spinergy employee. So this set of wheels may be some kind of odd "one off" kind of thing.
We recently encountered a bad creaking from the rear wheel. Disassembled the hub and lubed it. The axle (steel) felt like it was a press fit. So I didn't force anything and left it in the hub. The bearings are sealed bearings. The axle spun without any noticeable drag.
Ok. Yes, the spokes are blue. Not my choice (as purchased). Stoker likes the color though. "Matches the bike" she says.
We're heading out for the Palm Springs Century this weekend. This will be our first long ride on these wheels and on this tandem. They feel comfortable so far. Haven't weighed them. Not for the weight conscious I'm sure.
LouM...

We have ridden our Tx2s over 1000 miles with no problems and really like them. This is in contrast to the Topolinos we rode for about 1000 miles and had two cracked rims and a broken spoke with bills amounting to about $650 for repairs. This from two oldies, combined age of 145, and riding smooth roads.
The Topos certainly give a plusher ride, but for reliability, go Tx2. BTW, the Topos are now, or about to be, owned by Easton and the Topo guy, Raif, is making wheelchair wheels!!
We are a 340lb team on a CoMo Macchiato.

Yes, the hub will lock up solid touching on both sides of the fork drop out. I have thought too about just taking off enough material for clearance but at least 3/32 inches of material would have to be removed for proper clearance. I just don't know what the thickness of the metal is at the contact point. The newer Santana carbon V fork appears to have a normal size drop out area but explaining to the wife that I now need a 5-600 dollar fork should go over nicely

The reason for going with a different wheel set over the stock ones was not so much the ride or weight savings, it was because I had replaced the rims with Mavic ceramic rims for better braking when wet. Since I put the ceramic rims on, I have not been able to get rid of a high pitch brake squeal. I have tried many brake pads, special ceramic ones, different brands, they might be quiet for a few miles but after a few hard stops, the squeal always returns. I tried switching to different brakes (mini V brake), 2 times now) and while the squeal is better, it is still present.

Mike

Try looking on eBay there are some Alpha Q tandem rated forks to be had at a reasonable price. They will work with Spinergy non-disk front hub.

We have a set of Spinergy 32H Disc compatible wheels on our tandem. Not sure what model/year they are. Although they are disc compatible hubs, the bike uses rim brakes. The tandem frame doesn't have disc mounts. I'm not sure of the history of this tandem other than the guy I purchased the bike from indicated that it was previously owned by a Spinergy employee. So this set of wheels may be some kind of odd "one off" kind of thing.
We recently encountered a bad creaking from the rear wheel. Disassembled the hub and lubed it. The axle (steel) felt like it was a press fit. So I didn't force anything and left it in the hub. The bearings are sealed bearings. The axle spun without any noticeable drag.
Ok. Yes, the spokes are blue. Not my choice (as purchased). Stoker likes the color though. "Matches the bike" she says.
We're heading out for the Palm Springs Century this weekend. This will be our first long ride on these wheels and on this tandem. They feel comfortable so far. Haven't weighed them. Not for the weight conscious I'm sure.
LouM...

Those appear to be the "29er" version of Spinergy wheels. More spokes (32 vs 24 on the TX2), bigger hub flanges and wider rims, plus a bit more weight obviously due to the beefier design.

During my quest for wider rimmed wheels, a year or two ago I spoke with Ric @ House of Tandems (the Americas distributor) about these wheels and usage on road tandems. While they are intended for disc-only frames, they are still rim-brake capable (once the anodizing is removed from the brake track). IMO, these are a much better option for heavier and/or loaded teams, or if you wish to use +28mm tires.

The Spinergy axles are two pieces that screw together inside the the hub. Just use a hex key at each end (at the same time) and rotate each one counter-clockwise (when facing the end) to unscrew.

Thanks for the info Twocycle. Yes, the anodizing is gone. The braking surface looks like it is intended for a rim brake.
A good century. No problems. No creaks. Rear shifting was a bit "lazy" going into a smaller cog. I suspect it is the older XT derailleur in need of replacement. The bike is very stable at speed. I cannot feel when the stoker stands to pedal. Which is a good thing. Stoker says no need for a suspension seatpost.
Lots of fun talking to some the other tandems on the road except one that was carbon black with riders in black kits that buzzed by us tucked and hauling some major butt coming around a shallow right hand descent. The stoker gave us a peace sign (or "two sign") as they whizzed by.
Our avg was about 16.1 mph over the 101 miles. We did pull some riders with us on the flats when we were doing something in the 20s. Dinner with margaritas to celebrate ended the day.
LouM...

Have you tried adding a small washer on each side to spread the fork enough to clear the hub?

I have thought about adding a washer, it will need to be 1 to 1.5 mm for it to work. The fork drop outs are a few millimeters wider than the hub width, so this may work. Now I just need to find some good stainless steel washers

I have thought about adding a washer, it will need to be 1 to 1.5 mm for it to work. The fork drop outs are a few millimeters wider than the hub width, so this may work. Now I just need to find some good stainless steel washers

Mike

Try Lowes Home Improvement or Home Depot. They have a limited supply of stainless in their hardware department.